Aмαzιиg αиd Stυpιd αt thε Sαмε Tιмε
by rei-blaze
Summary: [Quick One-shot] "Wait, did you just call me stupid thrice?" she asks, scowling. "Nuh-uh. I called you stupid on the first one, idiot on second, and dense on third." AU.


**Disclaimer:** _I don't own Bleach. I wish I do, but nah._

**A/N:** _Hi, I've just written this story that I hate, and wasn't planning to post. But then, I also like it and I'd already posted it. See?_

_It's kind of a non-sense fluff. No, it's not trashy, it's actually kind of... err, dare I say it, cute, but it's still non-sense. Are you getting my point? No? Yeah, even I don't understand what I'm saying._

_Better yet, just read and enjoy!_

**Amazing and Stupid at the Same Time**

"Because I fucking love you! You, egoistic of an annoying asshole, you!" Just as the words come out of her mouth, Karin realizes she has just done something utterly stupid. But being the obstinate woman she is, she doesn't have any plan to take the words back nor does she have the thought to stop. "There, you damned bastard! Are you happy now?!"

She watches as Toushirou's expression changes from irritated to surprised to confused, and as it finally settles to impassive.

"What?" His voice is devoid of any emotion as his face is.

Karin glares, not liking the fact that Toushirou has easily closed down any hint of what he may have been feeling at their current situation. He's always so careful, so guarded that Karin has always found it difficult to decipher him. Ergo, she has hated him for that.

"You're not deaf to not hear what I said," she growls, her glare becoming more (figuratively) lethal. Forget about shooting daggers, nuclear bombs would've done it better. "Moreover, I believe you're not dumb to not comprehend what I meant. Hell if you are. What with the entire school giving you the 'Prodigy' title."

Toushirou refuses to say anything. In fact, he just stares with the same blank expression that makes Karin more irate.

This is damned ironic. Had anyone told her, few years ago, that she'd someday confess her love to Hitsugaya Toushirou—her one and only nemesis, a Jerk with a capital 'J', and the bane of her existence—she would've told the person to see a shrink.

Karin and Toushirou have hated each other ever since their very first meeting. Toushirou and his family were new in the neighborhood. Karin, being the playful and carefree seven-year-old she was, had just asked if he wanted to play soccer with her but Toushirou wasn't (and still isn't) exactly the best at socializing.

Instead of answering with the little girl's offer, Nine-year-old Toushirou huffed and told her simply, "Don't call me 'kid' because I am not one." And then he turned away from her.

Even at a young age of seven, Karin had already acquired a pride that made her refuse to accept Toushirou's reaction. Just as Toushirou walked to his house, Karin dropped the soccer ball that she was holding. She grinned, dribbling the ball with her feet a few times, before she kicked it, aiming the back of Toushirou's head.

Attempt hitting him, she did. Just as the ball was about to come in physical contact with Toushirou, he turned and, in a bat of an eye, kicked it back to Karin. The ball flew past Karin's shoulder and hit a tree nearby.

Karin didn't already have the time to react about it because suddenly Toushirou was in front of her again, shouting at her face, "What the hell is your problem!"

Most kids would surely find him intimidating, but Karin wasn't one of them. In lieu of shying away, she even beamed at him, "That was awesome!" Because it was. His kick was truly graceful for a kid and had an accurate aim. "What's your name?"

Irritated at the fact that Karin hadn't taken him seriously, Toushirou snapped, "That's none of your business!" Then, he stomped away.

"Fine! I'll just call you Snowman then!" Karin shouted, sticking out of her tongue at his retreating back.

Even when they'd learned the name of each other, Karin hadn't stopped on nick-naming him 'Snowman.' Eventually, Toushirou had repaid her by calling her 'Fruit Candy.'

Everything didn't stop from there. Most often than not, Toushirou would just brush Karin's behavior off, but it was when she'd thrown a pink paint at his head in a futile attempt to make a resemblance of cotton candy out of his hair that he'd totally snapped. Thereafter, he started to retaliate.

And so, the war between them has begun. Mild pranks and petty arguments have been run-of-the-mill on their relationship.

Karin has considered him her Number One Enemy. She loathes everything about him. She hates his frown, his stupid hair and his eyes—however beautiful they are. She hates his smirks, his glares, his short-tempered attitude and his seriousness. She hates the fact that he's a better soccer player than her. She hates his enigmatic personality. She hates it that when they've finally entered high school, he has become more good-looking than he already is, smarter, and more popular. She hates that he has the ability to charm almost everyone without even trying. She hates it every time she sees him talk with other girls on their school who are obviously flirting with him. She hates that he's so oblivious about it. She hates how he makes her wish he'd never talk to any girl but her. She hates that he hates her. But more than anything else, she hates herself for letting her guard down and falling for him.

Somehow, while Karin was busy believing that she hates Toushirou, a rebellious part of her had found the time to fall in-love with the guy.

And now she has accidentally spilled her secret. To Toushirou himself, no less.

"You know what?" Karin says, defeated as she decides that Toushirou isn't going to answer her anytime soon. "Just forget about it. " She makes a gesture to turn away but she's stopped by a hand around her wrist.

"Since when?" she hears Toushirou finally ask, his voice barely above whisper.

Karin gently pries his hand away from her wrist. "You might want to make your question more specific. Since when have I been in-love with you? Or since when did I realize?" She breathes deeply, as if readying herself for an hour of speech, and looks anywhere but him. "If it's the former, I'm afraid I don't have the answer since even I don't know. Though I suspect it's far from recent. But if you wanna know since when I've been aware, well, it's been few months ago." She smiles faintly, looking down at the grass as though the words she's going to say next are written there. "Remember when you won the soccer game against the undefeated school? That was the first time that I saw you smile. Genuinely, that is. And then I thought, 'Christ, what I'd give to see that smile more often.' And as much as the thought had scared me that time, I realized that... that... yeah, I've indeed fallen for you."

The silence lasts for just a few seconds, but for Karin, it's like eternity. When Toushirou opens his mouth to speak, Karin suddenly feels scared. She isn't sure anymore if she still wants to hear his answer.

But she knows it's inevitable.

"I'm in-love with someone." The statement comes like a keen-edged blade against a sensitive skin. Painless at first but after the brain has reacted, follows the inexplicable sting.

"Oh." Right, 'oh,' because Karin doesn't have a more appropriate answer than that. She knows that there's no way he'll like her, but hearing him say that he's in-love someone else is much more difficult to soak up.

And as if the pain still doesn't suffice, Toushirou continues, "She's lovely, but I doubt she's even aware of it. I mean, she's just always herself, simple, has never flaunted." He smiles, looking at the nearby pond wistfully. "And it's what makes her really beautiful—ironic though it is."

So he's in-love with a goddess. That's not really a surprise, considering the fact that he's damned attractive himself. Of course, it's only logical that he'll like someone who's in the same class as he is.

And Karin? Damn if she can compete. She can't even do her hair in a neat ponytail to save her life.

"She's witty. She always has the clever comebacks at everything I say."

"Beauty-and-brains. You're perfect match," Karin comments, the bitterness on her voice unchecked.

Toushirou ignores what she said. "The woman can kick, too," he lightly chuckles, shaking his head, "and punch. Only she has got the nerve to break my face with her fist."

Karin stares, smiling weakly, as Toushirou's feature softens. He must be really in-love with the girl if he can laugh just by the mere thought of her. Karin can't help but feel jealous.

"She sounds amazing," she says honestly, biting her bottom lip and looking down to hide the hurt expression on her face. The woman he loves is just so ideal for him, almost perfect. Karin doesn't stand a chance.

"Yeah, she's wonderful," Toushirou drones, looking directly at Karin, his expression empty once again, "But do you know the thing that I both love and hate about her?"

Karin doesn't reply. It's not as if she knows, and it's not as if he really needs an answer.

"It's the fact that sometimes she's just too stupid to realize how great she really is."

Karin nods half-heartedly, thinking maybe it is still better that she told him what she feels. At least, she doesn't already need to live with the 'What if's' everyday.

"I see," she whispers, "I get it."

"No, you don't get it."

Toushirou's statement makes Karin look up. "Of course I get it!" she replies, voice barely rising, a frown making its way on her face. "You're in-love with that unbelievably perfect girl! I get it! I can't compete with her! There's no way that you'll ever like me!"

"See?! This is exactly my point!" Toushirou shouts back, grabbing Karin's shoulders to lightly shake her. "You don't get it, Karin! You never get it!"

Frustrated, Toushirou lets go of her. He runs a hand on his locks, sighing and murmuring, "You're really an idiot, aren't you?"

Karin glares as Toushirou continues speaking, "You never get it, Karin. When I told you that the girl I love is beautiful and smart, you instantly thought that you can't compete with her. Why? It's because you never considered yourself as beautiful, isn't at? One thing that I damn hate about you! How can you say that you get it if you don't even know how beautiful you are!"

Karin's eyes widen. "W-what are—"

"Yes, the girl I love is beautiful, smart and really amazing! And has it ever occurred to you that you're exactly that kind of girl?! Because you are, damn it! And you were saying that there's no way I'll like you, but do you wanna know something?! The girl I love is none other than you! You, Karin, damn it, you! But then what?! You're too dense to get it!"

Dumbfounded. That's the most accurate word to describe Karin's reaction upon hearing Toushirou's confession.

"Oh," she says again, as the words finally sink. If she's the typical girl, she would've already cried out of joy,— hey, the man she loves has just returned her feelings—but she isn't exactly a typical girl nor is she a fan of crying. So instead, she narrows her eyes at him.

"So, what are you still waiting for?" she asks, jabbing Toushirou's chest with her index finger, "This is the part where you're supposed to kiss me."

Toushirou sighs, covering his eyes with a hand. After everything he's said, Karin's still acting like... well, herself. "Kami, why am I in-love with this woman?"

"Oh, shut up. I'm also in-love with an asshole also known as you but I am not complaining, am I?" Karin frowns, folding her arms.

"Damn right," Toushirou mutters, rolling his eyes. Nonetheless, he smiles as he wraps an arm around her. "Not that you have anything to complain." He leans down, catching her lips with his.

Just as Karin grabs Toushirou's collar, and stands on her tiptoes to kiss him back, she remembers something which makes her pull away. "Wait, did you just call me stupid thrice?" she asks, scowling.

Unfazed, Toushirou brings his face down once more, grazing his lips against hers, as he whispers, "Nuh-uh. I called you stupid on the first one, idiot on second, and dense on third." He smirks and puts a hand on the back of Karin's head to hold her in place. He fully presses his mouth against hers, leaving her no chance for rebuttal.

• **нιтѕυкαяιи •**

**A/N:** _Odd pairing, they are. _

_Do you get me now? It's non-sense, yet fluffy. It's fluffy, but still not making any sense. I don't know, seriously._

_I am not making sense, am I?_


End file.
